Does Swedish amateur boxing lead to chronic brain damage? 1. A retrospective medical, neurological and personality trait study

Sweden banned professional boxing in 1969 and has also considered banning amateur boxing. We therefore analysed possible chronic brain damage in 47 former amateur boxers who started their careers after the introduction of stricter Swedish amateur boxing rules. The boxers were compared with three control groups--25 soccer players, 25 track and field athletes and 19 conscripts. All athletes were interviewed about their sports career, medical history and social variables. They then underwent a physical and a neurological examination, including a mini-mental state examination. Personality traits were investigated and related to their platelet MAO activity in the athletes as well as in the conscripts. No significant differences were found between the groups in any of the physical or neurological examinations. All had a normal mini-mental state examination. Thus, results from these test methods did not reveal any signs of chronic brain damage from Swedish amateur boxing. Neither were any significant differences found with regard to platelet MAO activity, while significant differences were found in some of the social and personality traits variables.